Besides sharing recipes, I love to hear about and share cooking shortcuts. For instance, when I make lasagna, stuffed pasta shells or manicotti, I’ve learned that it isn’t necessary to cook the pasta first. As long as there’s enough liquid in the sauce, the pasta will cook until done when baking the dish in the oven.

Another idea for stuffing pasta or pastries, is to use a large storage bag. Just load the bag with filling and cut a small opening in the corner. Squeeze the filling through the small opening and throw the baggie away when finished.

I used both of those techniques to make manicotti last week. I also added frozen peas to the recipe, making it a one-dish meal.

Stuffed Cheese and Peas Manicotti
1-pint container ricotta cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
2 eggs
1 c. peas, fresh or frozen, thawed
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pkg. family-sized manicotti pasta
2 c. red pasta sauce or 16-oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded

Mix together the ricotta cheese, 3/4 of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, peas, salt and pepper. Place mixture into a plastic baggy. Turn the baggy into a pastry bag by cutting off one corner. Then use it to squeeze the mixture into the uncooked manicotti shells.

Smear a little pasta sauce into the bottom of a 13×9″ baking dish. Then layer in the filled shells. Mix any remaining filling with the rest of the pasta sauce and pour over the shells. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Then cover with a foil tent to keep it from getting too brown, and bake for 10 more minutes. The cooking time for the recipe is longer than usual because uncooked shells are used.

If you decide to cook the shells, only 40 minutes of baking is required. But cooked manicotti shells are much harder to fill and messy. The extra cooking time is worth it.
Here’s another great summer-time recipe using peas.

Pesto, Pea and Pine Nut Pasta Salad
1-1/2 lb. short cut pasta, like bowtie or rigatoni
1/4 c. olive oil
1-1/2 c. prepared pesto
3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 c Parmesan
1-1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
1 small bag fresh baby spinach, torn
1/2 c. pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta, drain, toss with olive oil and let cool. Combine pesto, lemon juice, mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. When the pasta is cooled to room temperature, stir in the pesto-mayo mixture. Toss in the peas and spinach. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with pine nuts. Serve at room temperature.

Please send me your cooking shortcuts.